The invention is directed to a distribution device for a straw chopper, having a guide arrangement, a motor for positioning the guide arrangement and a control arrangement that is connected with the motor as well as at least one manually operated position input device for inputting the desired position of the guide arrangement.
It is desirable for straw choppers attached to combines to distribute the chopped remains of the crop across the width of the cutter head at the rear of the combine. The ejection of the chopped crop into the remaining stand of the crop that has not yet been harvested should be avoided. Particularly in operation with a cross wind the operator is required with each change in the direction of operation that produces a change in the direction of the flow of the wind on the combine, to reposition the guide vanes of the straw chopper with a manual input in an input device. The input device brings about a motorized repositioning of the guide vanes. In known input devices a button must be pressed for such a time until the guide vane reaches the desired position. Since a visual check must be performed simultaneously to determine whether the target position has been reached, the repositioning process is relatively time consuming and distracts the operator from his primary activity, the steering and operation of the combine. As a result the continuing repositioning of the guide vanes is omitted and the operator positions the guide vanes for a relatively narrow distribution, in which no chopped crop is thrown into the remaining upright stand of the crop. This results in the chopped crop not being ejected over the entire width of the cutter head. This is a disadvantageous in no tillage operations.
Distribution devices have also been proposed that use sensors to detect the inclination of the ground and/or the wind direction or the wind speed and its strength or the direction of flight of the ejected chopped crop and automatically reposition the guide vanes. It has also been proposed that the position of the standing stand of the crop relative to the combine be detected by manual input or a video camera, and to reposition the guide vanes as a function of the position detected. However, costly sensors would be required.
EP 1 151 652 A describes a harvesting machine with an ejection elbow that can be rotated about the vertical axis for the transfer of the chopped crop to the loading chamber of an accompanying vehicle. Information about the immediate position of the ejection elbow is stored in memory. After actuating a corresponding key, the ejection elbow is rotated into the mirror image position relative to the longitudinal axis of the harvesting machine in order to be able to position the accompanying vehicle at the same position of the harvesting machine after turning at the edge of the field.
In combines of the model series CTS of the applicant a drive control lever equipped with various keys is applied. Some of the keys are used to recall previously programmed height and forward/rearward positions of the reel. If a key is pressed only briefly, the values stored in memory are recalled. If it is pressed for a longer period of time, information about the position of the reel at that time, which can be recalled later, is stored in memory.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a low cost but operator friendly arrangement for repositioning the guide elements.
The control arrangement of the present invention can be operated in a first or a second operating mode that can be selected. The first operating mode is selected by actuating the position input device for only a relatively short time interval, that is, for a time interval that is less than a predetermined threshold value. In the first operating mode the control arrangement instructs the motor to bring the guide arrangement into a predetermined position. The second operating mode is selected by actuation of the same position input device, for a longer period of time that lies above the threshold value. In the second operating mode the control arrangement instructs the motor to move the guide arrangement for such a period of time as long as the position input device is actuated.
In this way the operator can recall a predetermined position of the guide arrangement by an actuation of the same position input device on the one hand (by a brief actuation) and on the other hand (by a longer actuation) can pivot the guide arrangement for such a time until it has reached a desired position. Therefore for two different functions only a single position input device is required, which reduces the number of parts and the space needed for these parts.
Although it would be conceivable that only one position input device be provided with which the guide arrangement can be repositioned in one direction of rotation through 360xc2x0 or with which a direction is associated which can be recalled by a switch or the like, as a rule at least two position input devices are provided each of which is associated with different, opposing repositioning arrangements of the guide arrangement.
In the first operating mode the motor brings the guide arrangement into a predetermined position. This position may be a position that corresponds to a position information that has been stored in memory. The operator can then recall the desired position by selecting the first operating mode. In case that several position input devices are available several positions can be recalled. In many cases, for example, after a change in the direction of a swath, it is, nevertheless, useful to bring the guide arrangement into a position that is symmetrical to the previous position of the guide arrangement relative to the longitudinal center plane of the harvesting machine. If the guide vanes of the guide arrangement are pivoted initially, for example, by 20xc2x0 to the left relative to the longitudinal axis, in order to avoid harvested crop remains reaching the stand of the crop located on the right side of the harvesting machine, the guide arrangement is pivoted through 40xc2x0 to the right after the turn at the end of the field by activating the first operating mode, so that it is located 20xc2x0 to the right relative to the longitudinal center plane, since then the stand of the crop lies on the left side of the harvesting machine. The last value entered could also be operated upon that lies beyond the longitudinal axis, so that unsymmetrical positions can also be operated upon. The latter may also be useful, for example, in the case of side wind, since in the first direction of operation the guide arrangement needs to be repositioned less (or more) than in the other direction of operation.
In order to be able to bring the guide arrangement into a position symmetrical to the previous position, that is a mirror image position about the longitudinal center plane, an obvious solution is to store information about the position of the guide arrangement at that time in memory after the end of the second mode of operation or before any initiation of the first mode of operation. Then the control arrangement brings the guide arrangement into the mirror image position or the position last operated in on the other side corresponding to the information stored in memory.
The predetermined threshold value for the first time interval at the end of which the control arrangement goes over into the second operating mode is preferably variable. It can be provided as input, for example, over a keyboard in an on-board computer of the harvesting machine.
In case an operator wants to further reposition the guide arrangement by a smaller amount or a larger amount, after he has moved it in the second operating mode, it would be of little help if the guide arrangement had been brought into the predetermined position in the first operating mode on the basis of a further actuation of the position input device. Therefore in a preferred embodiment the control arrangement transfers into a third operating mode after it has left the second operating mode, that is, when the position input device is no longer actuated. Then in the third operating mode actuation of the position input device immediately recalls the second operating modexe2x80x94this circumvents the first operating mode which in this case would lead to an undesirable repositioning of the guide arrangementxe2x80x94in which the guide arrangement is moved for such a time interval as long as the position input device is actuated. The third operating mode is active for a predetermined (second) time interval whose length is preferably variable, in particular by means of a keyboard. In case two position input devices are available, that are associated with opposite repositioning directions of the guide arrangement, after the conclusion of the second operating mode, the third operating mode is appropriately activated in each case for both position input devices, so that then a fine adjustment of the guide arrangement can be performed by actuation of the two position input devices in both directions.
The invention can be applied to combines in which the guide arrangement is located downstream of a straw chopper. It can also be applied to forage harvesters whose guide arrangement is a discharge elbow arranged downstream of a chopper drum.
The guide arrangement may be guide vanes known in themselves, that are arranged downstream of a straw chopper and are attached to a straw distributor hood. On the other hand the guide arrangement may also be a duct that is arranged downstream of a blower. The duct may also be arranged downstream of a chopper, for example, a web disk wheel chopper. Such a duct may be pivoted continuously back and forth about an approximately vertical axis, in order to cover a sufficient width that preferably corresponds approximately to the width of the cutter head. The invention makes it possible to adjust the region of movement of the duct automatically within limits provided as input.
In some harvesting machines a chopper of this type equipped with a duct for the ejection of the chopped crop can be brought out of the operating position, in which straw is ejected, into a non-operating position, in which the chaff ejected by the cleaning arrangement is ejected through the chopper and the duct. Preferably, when the duct is in the non-operating position, it is brought into a position whose input can be provided by the control arrangement and the motor. This embodiment is particularly useful when only a single chopper with only a single duct is available.